Pretty Setters
by sandersonsister
Summary: Kuroo had mentioned him multiple times within the first ten minutes of them meeting. But that was okay - Oikawa was pretty sure he had mentioned Iwaizumi just as often.


A/N: Another soulmate story! I hope everyone enjoys!

Oikawa had heard of him, of course. It was hard not to when your roommate was Kuroo Tetsurou. He was pretty sure that within the first ten minutes of the two of them meeting, Kuroo had mentioned his best friend four times. Not that Oikawa was any better – he was pretty sure Iwa-chan cad come up a couple of times as well.

The two of them had been paired together due to their similar study areas, both sciences though Kuroo's was chemistry, and they were both on the volleyball team. A friend of Kuroo's from high school, the libero Yaku, was rooming just next door with Bokuto Koutarou, another friend of Kuroo's but someone Oikawa recognized. He had been named one of the top five aces last year and Oikawa would have been a horrible captain if he hadn't known who the other boy was.

As the three of them grew up in Tokyo and their teams had played each other often, but Oikawa hadn't actually met any of them until the day he moved in – surprisingly enough, all three of them had stared at him in shock the moment he had said his name.

"Oikawa?" His new roommate clarified, his dark eyes scanning Oikawa from head to toe.

Oikawa's smile grew forced at the tone of disbelief and the look he saw on the three boys faces. "Yes?"

"Setter, Oikawa?" The short one asked.

"That would be me," Oikawa stated, his smiled dropping.

"Great King Oikawa?" The one he knew was Bokuto asked loudly.

Oikawa took a step back. "Gre – sorry, do you chibi-chan?" How did these three know Karasuno's shorty?

"Chibi-chan? You mean shrimpy?"

"Oi! Kuroo!" The short one snapped, turning to glare at this 'Kuroo'.

"I wasn't talking about you!"

"I want to see you serve!" Bokuto said loudly over the argument the other two had started. Oikawa blinked frantically, trying to keep up.

"Uh…"

"Hinata talks about you to Kenma," Kuroo said, turning away from his argument with the small, angry one. "You were Kageyama's senpai, right?"

Oikawa felt his eye twitch, "Tobio-chan? Yeah. Uh, who exactly is Kenma?"

The angry one laughed and pointed to Kuroo. "Not everyone knows Kenma, Kuroo."

Kuroo crossed his arms over his chest in defiance, but Oikawa thought he could detect a bit of embarrassment in his eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm not used to –"

Bokuto rolled his eyes, "We know that you and Kenma have been attached at the hip since you were four. You don't have to explain it."

Oikawa sighed and raised a hand slightly, "Sorry, but I don't know. Kenma is your…?"

"Best friend," Kuroo answered. "Anyway, he and the shrimp are close."

That was the first time he heard the name but it certainly hadn't been the last. By the end of the week, he knew that said third year was a setter, was intelligent, and Kuroo missed him almost as much as Oikawa missed his own best friend. Iwa-chan had decided to go to a different university and while Oikawa understood why, he didn't like it. For the first time ever, he was in a different school than Iwa-chan, was on a different volleyball team, and couldn't walk down the block and talk to him. Instead, he had to rely on phone calls and messages – which wasn't a good thing because Iwa-chan had always been horrible with answering his phone and messages.

Kuroo went back home as often as he could, which was usually once a month when they didn't have practice. Oikawa was a little jealous about that. He wouldn't be able to go home to visit until Golden Week, and even then it would only be for a few days. But, since he went home so often, Oikawa had never had a chance to meet this mysterious Kenma.

Which is why he didn't know what to do when he opened the door one night and saw a boy with messy, two toned hair standing in the hall. "Um, hello?"

"Kuroo?" The boy asked, looking around Oikawa and into the room.

Oikawa blinked at the obvious dismissal. Well then. "Not here," he responded, moving to close the door.

The boy moved, ducking into the room before Oikawa could close it completely. Oikawa stared at him, mouth hanging open, as the strange boy moved into the room and tossed a bag onto the couch. "Excuse me?" Oikawa stuttered, not really sure what was going on. Who was this person? And what had Kuroo done that said person was refusing to leave?

"I'll wait," the boy muttered, plopping himself onto the couch and pulling is legs up against his chest. He reached into the bag, pulling out some sort of gaming system, and began to play.

Oikawa had no idea what to do. After staring at the odd boy, he finally decided that whatever was going on, he didn't want to deal with it. It was Kuroo's problem so Kuroo could deal with it. Oikawa grabbed his phone and snapped a picture, the boy not even glancing up as the click sounded, and sent the picture to his roommate.

 _Oikawa: Image attached_

 _Oikawa: Kuroo, who is on our couch?_

 _Kuroo: Kenma?!_

 _Kuroo: Why is he there?_

 _Kuroo: What happened?_

 _Oikawa: I don't know, Tetsu-chan! He just showed up, didn't say anything, and said he would wait for you!_

 _Kuroo: I'll be back soon._

 _Oikawa: Don't you have a late class, Testu-chan?_

 _Kuroo: I'll be there soon, Oikawa._

Oikawa frowned at his phone. "Is he coming?" The boy asked, not bothering to look at Oikawa and staring at his game.

What the-? How did he-? "Yes."

The boy, Kenma?, didn't say anything else and Oikawa slowly moved to sit at the small table, where he had been working on homework before all of this happened. He stared down at the book in front of him, wondering exactly what was going on that the younger boy had shown up randomly when Kuroo had explained that Kenma hated going into crowded areas on his own. Not to mention, it was obvious that Kuroo hadn't known he was coming.

"You don't seem to be as scary as Shoyo says," Kenma muttered, causing Oikawa to jump at the sudden noise. The voice was pleasant, though somewhat monotone.

Once he realized exactly what had been said, Oikawa slowly nodded his head, "I'm going to assume Shoyo is chibi-chan."

"He said you taught Kageyama."

"So you thought I would be an older version of Tobio-chan?" The image invaded Oikawa's mind and he shuddered. "Ah, no. No, no, no. Nothing like Tobio-chan. No!"

Cat like eyes stared at him over the console and Oikawa thought he might have actually seen the younger boy's lips twitch into a smile. "Is something wrong, Ken-chan?"

Well, there went that smile. "No." Oikawa wasn't sure if the response was to the question or the nickname.

"Really? Cause I don't think Tetsu-chan planned on you being here," Oikawa sang out, though he studied the younger boy intently. He noticed how Kenma's hands tightened on his console, how the sounds from said console had stopped. Kenma wasn't even pressing the buttons any longer. After a moment, said console was pressed down on the couch and his arms were wrapped tightly around his legs. He leaned down, resting his head on his knees. Oikawa saw the dejected position the other boy took and stood from his seat, moving into the kitchen to give the boy some sort of privacy.

A couple of minutes later, Oikawa walked back into the room with a mug of hot chocolate. He slowly made his way toward the coach and cleared his throat. When those eyes, eyes that were now rimmed red, looked up at him, Oikawa offered the mug. Those cat-like eyes flickered between him and the mug for a moment and then he slowly unwrapped one of his arms and gently took the mug. Oikawa had added a lot of marshmallows, just like his mother always made it, so he hoped it helped. At least a bit.

He went back to the table and barely started on his assignment when Kuroo flew open the door and ran into the room. He barely glanced at Oikawa before his eyes landed on Kenma. He moved toward the couch, slowly sinking beside the younger boy and gently taking him into his arms. Oikawa stood quietly, moving toward his room and softly closing the door behind him.

Kenma ended up staying with them for the next two days. He barely spoke, usually choosing to stay in his position on the couch and playing his game. Kuroo flittered around him, bringing him food and drinks. He would often sit beside the other and rest an arm around his shoulders while pulling the younger against his chest.

Oikawa had no idea what was going on, but he couldn't say he was upset that the boy was there. He was quiet, didn't really get in the way, and even told Kuroo to clean up after himself – it was one of the few things that annoyed Oikawa about his roommate. Oikawa was a neat person, liking to keep things organized. Kuroo often placed things down wherever he was, never putting them back in their proper places.

On the third day, when Oikawa walked out of his bedroom and went into the bathroom to get ready for class, he noticed that the couch was cleared and the blankets folded. Kenma's bag was gone. "Did you go back home?" Oikawa questioned his roommate, who was already ready to go and sitting at the table.

"He left early this morning," Kuroo responded through a mouthful of…whatever it was he was eating. "He has class. And practice."

Oikawa hesitated for a moment but decided he might as well ask. Kuroo could always tell him to mind his own business. "Is he okay?"

After a few seconds, Oikawa thought that maybe Kuroo was just going to ignore him and the question. Oikawa turned to walk into the bathroom, but froze when a reply came, "I don't know," the other boy admitted. Oikawa heard a smack and a loud groan and he turned, startled, to see Kuroo's head against the table. When the former Nekoma captain sat up a moment later, Oikawa couldn't help but stare at the bright red mark on his forehead. "Just – if he shows up again, do you mind if he stays?"

"Of course not," Oikawa responded right away. Kuroo just nodded tiredly and Oikawa decided it was better not to ask.

He showed up exactly two weeks after the first time. The nock came and Oikawa, who was once again studying, stood to answer the door, wondering just who could be at the door. He pulled it open, staring over the top of his glasses. "Oh!" he said in surprise. The current Nekoma third year was staring at the ground, his hands fiddling with the sleeves of his jacket. Oikawa just pulled the door open and allowed the other boy to scurry pass him to the couch.

"Do you want some hot chocolate, Ken-chan?" Oikawa asked cheerfully.

He saw Kenma nod his head once out of the corner of his eye and he quickly moved into the kitchen to make a cup for Kenma and himself. The boy took it instantly when Oikawa offered the mug toward him. "Thanks," he said softly.

"You're welcome, Ken-chan!"

"I would ask you not to call me that," Kenma said tonelessly, "but, from what I've heard from Shoyo, I don't think you would listen."

Oikawa laughed and slowly sank on the couch, "Iwa-chan has been trying for years! I think he finally gave up. It's just easier."

There was that small smile once again. "I don't doubt it."

The two sat in silence, both sipping on their hot chocolate, when Oikawa finally stood. "Mario Kart, Ken-chan?"

He watched as Kenma's gold eyes lit up as he nodded. Oikawa sent the boy a bright smile and quickly set up the game, handing a controller to the younger boy. He learned quickly that Kuroo hadn't been exaggerating when it came to Kenma and his games.

Oikawa didn't think he had ever lost at anything so bad. Ever.

After ten rounds of him being sorely beaten, he finally let out a groan and put his controller down. "Okay, you win. One day we'll have to play volleyball against each other. We can see who wins then."

He though he actually heard Kenma chuckle beside him. "I call Kuro," her murmured.

Oikawa laughed, "Eh, if we're doing childhood friends, we'll have to wait until Iwa-chan visits."

"I'm really not interested in doing my childhood friend," Kenma said wickedly. Oikawa stared at the boy, completely caught off guard, before laughing loudly.

"So, Kuroo's friend is staying with you. Again," Iwa-chan commented with his usually grumpy voice. "This is what? The sixth time?"

"Seventh," Oikawa corrected, a frown on his face at the question. "I think,"

"I'm surprised you're so okay with it," Iwa-chan commented.

Oikawa held the phone between his shoulder and ear as he hung up his laundry. "Why?"

"Uh, because you aren't usually one for guests, Crappykawa," Iwa-chan sighed. "You put on a good show in public, but you usually don't like people being in your space. Hell, it took you over a year to let Makki and Mattsun over. You really are a crappy guy."

Oikawa scowled at the words. "Iwa-chan! I am not!"

"Yeah, okay," Iwa-chan muttered. He cleared his throat loudly, "Hey, I have something to hell you."

"That sounds ominous," Oikawa chimed lightly, though he stopped moving about the room and sat on his bed. "What is it?"

"Well," Iwa-chan cleared his throat once again, "I, uh, found my soulmate."

Oikawa gasped loudly. He had never been one to obsess over soulmates and soulmarks. He knew the statistics, knew how people spent their lives searching for the person that was supposed to be with them. Oikawa, whose parents were not soulmates and perfectly happy, had never really cared if he found his or not. But he knew that there were those, like Makki and Mattsun, that he could have never have been happy with someone else. "Who?!"

"Uh," Iwa-chan paused and Oikawa began to feel something unpleasant in his stomach. "Well, someone that I…got to know this year."

Eyes narrowing, Oikawa zeroed in on certain words, "Someone you 'got to know'?" He questioned. "Not someone you met?"

"I already knew him," Iwa-chan admitted. "Sort of, anyway."

"What? Wait, what does that mean?" Oikawa cried. There had to be a reason that Iwaizumi was so against telling him.

"Uh, remember that setter from Karasuno?"

A red haze settled over Oikawa's vision. "Are you – Hajime if this is your way of telling me Kagyama-"

"What? Wait! No! Oikawa, no!" Iwaizumi cut in, Oikawa was breathing heavily, his chest feeling tight. "Oi! Tooru! Hey!"

Oikawa could barely hear him. This couldn't be happening. Kageyama couldn't be taking this from him too. Not Hajime. He could understand it being anyone else…but not him.

The next thing he knew, he was staring into a pair of golden eyes and a pair of cold hands were pressed against his cheeks. "Oikawa, breathe," the person in front of him said softly. Oikawa took a deep breath, staring into those golden eyes. They were so warm yet he felt like they could see everything about him, everything he tried to hide. "Okay, you can talk now," Kenma said more loudly than usual. Oikawa wasn't sure what that meant.

"Tooru? Hey, you listening to me now?"

Hajime. He was on the phone with Hajime.

He looked down, seeing his phone had been placed on speaker and was resting on the bed. He swallowed hard and looked back up, once again meeting Kenma's eyes. "I'm here."

"You moron! If it was Kageyama, I would have said Kageyama! You're such a shitty guy!" Iwaizumi growled. "No, it isn't Kageyama. The other setter from Karasuno."

Other setter- "Mr. Refreshing?"

"His name is Sugawara," Iwa-chan sighed. "My soulmate is Sugawara."

"Oh," Oikawa sighed, finally feeling like he could breathe. "Okay. Mr. Refreshing is…refreshing."

"Such a crappy guy," Iwa-chan complained. "You okay?"

"Fine," Oikawa muttered, still not looking away from the golden eyes that had yet to look away from his own. He had never seen Kenma look at someone for this long. Had never even seen the other boy look up for this long.

"Hey, Kozume? He alright?"

"Hmm," Kenma murmured, his eyes finally flickering away from Oikawa as he looked down at the phone. "Seems okay."

"Alright," Iwa-chan sighed, "Look, Oikawa, I'll talk to you later. Thanks again, Kozume."

The phone fell silent and Kenma stood, moving away. "Uh, thanks," Oikawa muttered.

Kenma shrugged. "You should sleep. Sleep usually helps."

Oikawa didn't ask how the other boy knew that, and Kenma didn't offer. He merely walked out of the room, closing the door as he did so.

"Kenma is going to take the entrance exam," Kuroo informed Oikawa. He's entire body screamed relief as he said the words. "He – well, I wasn't sure if he would."

Oikawa hummed, "Good. I like Ken-chan."

Kuroo laughed, "I still can't believe he lets you call him that."

"You just have to have my natural charm," Oikawa said flippantly, shooting the bed-head a cheeky grin, only to receive an eyeroll in return.

"Well," Kuroo started, "I'm glad you like him. I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something. I was talking to Bo and we thought that, maybe, we could move out of the dorms next year."

Oh. Oikawa had thought they had got along well. If Kuroo moved out with Bokuto, Oikawa would be assigned another roommate – and he had gotten lucky the first time. Oikawa didn't usually have the best luck. He didn't want to take a chance the second time. "Oh. Well, that's…great."

Kuroo frowned at him and Oikawa avoided his gaze. He didn't want Kuroo to see that the words had upset him. Kuroo was probably the closest friend he had here. "Oh, you idiot," Kuroo muttered, making Oikawa's eyes snap to the other boy as he laughed loudly. "Look, Yaku has decided to study abroad next year-" he what now? "-and Akaashi, Bokuto's soulmate, is planning on coming here for university. So, he and Bo wanted to get a place together. And Kenma wouldn't exactly…deal well with a roommate he didn't know. "

Oikawa stared, "Wait, what?"

Kuroo continued to laugh. "You – wow. Okay. These dorms are great, but we both have trouble getting work done here with all the partying and Akaashi looked into it and found out that we could actually save money by getting a place together and not paying the dorm fees. So, he and Bo are going to get a place together and I thought we could move out of the dorms with Kenma."

Wait, so Kuroo was thinking about them living together outside the dorms? With Kenma? He felt his pulse quicken at the thought.

 _…huh?_

Okay, he would think about that later. He had actually looked into apartments before he moved, having not wanted to live in the dorms. Kuroo was right about them probably saving money by moving out, especially if the payment was split between five people. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, that would be…yeah."

Kuroo continued to laugh, "Such an idiot."

Kenma and Akaashi both passed the entrance exam easily and soon enough Oikawa found himself walking to different apartments Bokuto, Kuroo, Akaashi, and Kenma. Kenma, who obviously didn't want to be there, was lagging behind and only picked up his pace when Kuroo stopped randomly and grabbed his sleeve to pull him along. "I really don't care," the boy muttered. "Why can't you just pick one? I don't need to see it."

"This is a bonding experience, Kitten!" Kuroo said happily, throwing his arm around his best friend and pulling him toward the rest of the group.

"I don't need to bond," Kenma hissed as he ducked under his friends arm.

Oikawa bit back a laugh at the complete shock that crossed Kuroo's face as Kenma moved to stand behind him. "I don't want to be here," Kenma mumbled from behind Oikawa.

"We only have two more to look at," Oikawa said back, "After that we can stop and get some apple pie. There's a really good bakery around here."

He saw Kenma's eyes light up and the boy willingly followed along while Kuroo complained about Oikawa allowing Kenma to spoil his dinner and best friends allowing themselves to be bribed by pretty setters. "Bro, which one are you talking about?" Bokuto asked, genuinely confused as he looked between Akaashi, Oikawa, and Kenma. "They're all pretty."

Oikawa laughed loudly as Kenma ducked his head and Akaashi stared at his boyfriend. "Bokuto, Kenma is Kuroo's best friend and the person that was speaking to him was Oikawa. That means the setter Kuroo was referring to was Oikawa-san."

"Oh," Bokuto nodded seriously, "but, bro, Akaashi is the prettiest!"

Oikawa scrunched up his nose but he really couldn't argue. He would really rather not admit it, but the younger setter was very attractive. Kuroo just sighed as he opened a door to the most recent apartment building.

This building had two apartments open, one with two bedrooms and one with one. They both had small kitchens and a good size front room. The one bedroom was a floor below the two bedroom, but Kuroo and Bokuto certainly seemed to like the thought of them all being close to each other. "I like it," Akaashi said definitely as he looked around the apartment.

"Me too!" Bokuto said, running from one end to the other. "Let's get it!"

"It isn't too far from the University," Kuroo nodded. "And it's a good price."

"It's fine," was Kenma's input.

"Oikawa likes it too," Kuroo added. Oikawa turned, mock outrage on his face as he looked at his roommate.

"And who are you to speak for me?"

"It's all over your face," Kenma sighed, "you like it."

Oikawa did. It was slightly annoying how easily these two were able to read him. It was probably a good thing that he never played Nekoma in high school.

They spoke to the head of the building and made a plan to move in shortly after Kenma and Akaashi graduated. Oikawa noticed that within a few minutes of the meeting, Kenma had his eyes almost completely closed in exhaustion. "I hope you aren't too tired for that pie," Oikawa muttered and he watched in amusement as Kenma's eyes flew open.

"Kaashi and I are going to go," Bokuto said, sending a wink toward Kuroo as they stepped out of the building. Akaashi blushed and reprimanded his boyfriend but it didn't stop Bokuto from dragging him away.

"Alright," Kuroo sighed, "let's get this pie."

Kenma actually kept up with the two of them as they walked down the street. When the café was in sight, he actually pulled ahead, causing Oikawa and Kuroo to share an amused glance. "Get a seat," Oikawa told the others as he moved toward the counter. Kenma did so quickly but Kuroo hung back.

"So, Kenma mentioned that Suga is Iwaizumi's soulmate," Kuroo said quickly, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Yes?" Oikawa questioned carefully, knowing there as more to this than what he thought.

"Did he happen to mention Diachi?"

"Daichi? Captain Daichi?" Oikawa questioned loudly, eyes wide as he stared at his clearly uncomfortable roommate. "If you have something to ask, you might as well do it clearly."

Kuroo scowled and Oikawa giggled at having got under his skin. "I was wondering if Suga had mentioned anything about Daichi finding his soulmate."

"Not that I know of," Oikawa answered honestly, a smile still tugging at his lips. "Have you found your soulmate, Tetsu-chan?"

Kuroo scowled at him, "You know I wouldn't be asking if I had." Oikawa laughed loudly in response. He actually felt slightly relieved at the answer. He had wondered if Kuroo and Kenma were soulmates. There were some that decided to stay platonic with their markmates, some that were just best friends and not lovers.

He was surprised at how happy he was to learn that wasn't true.

"Anyway, I never really got the chance to ask in high school," Kuroo admitted, "and, well, after seeing Bokuto and Akaashi, and you and Kenma, I kind of thought-"

 _Wait_.

"-that maybe I could check in. Just to see if maybe there is a chance-"

 _What the hell did he mean by –_

 _Akaashi is Bokuto's soulmate._

 _Why would he be grouped into that thought with Kenma?_

"Tetsu-chan," Oikawa said loudly, cutting of the now rambling Kuroo. Kuroo's mouth snapped shut. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?"

"Wh-? I just always kind of felt drawn to Daichi and I never saw his soulmark, so I thought it might be possible-"

"Not that part," Oikawa said impatiently.

"About checking with Suga?"

Oikawa growled in annoyance and turned on his heel, stepping quickly toward the table Kenma had claimed. Said boy glanced up from his game as Oikawa stepped in front of him, a frown on his face when he noticed there wasn't any pie. "Pardon me, Ken-chan," Oikawa said in a falsely cheerful voice ask he moved behind the other boy, lifted his hair, and pulled the back of his shirt down slightly to see a mark on the base of his neck that matched his own precisely. His mouth dropped open as he stared at the mark. This – Kenma was –

 _Thank god._

The thought that crossed his mind was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of relief. Kenma was his soulmate. Kenma was the person fate thought he should be with.

"Oikawa? Can you let go now?" Kenma questioned, shifting uncomfortably. Oikawa blinked, stepping back and letting go of the boy. Kenma turned his head slightly, face flushed. The two stared at each other, Oikawa staring into those familiar gold eyes.

They did not break eye contact until a throat cleared loudly from beside them. They both glanced to the side, seeing an uncomfortable looking Kuroo with a plate of apple pie in hand. "Uh, I guess you hadn't had a chance to talk to him yet?"

Kenma glared, "No, Kuro."

"But you're okay with it?" Kuroo asked, this time the question directed toward Oikawa.

"Very."

"Right," Kuroo slowly slid the plate onto the table and motioned over his shoulder, "well, then, I'm just going to…head back. I'll see you at the dorm…" He gave one more uncomfortable smile before turning toward the door, leaving Oikawa to slid into the seat across from Kenma.


End file.
